Throwing up food?

I’m extremely stressed, please, please help. My panther chameleon was basking this morning when he suddenly started gagging and threw up. I’ve read on this before but most of the time people have said they’d be vomiting some kind of liquid. But mine threw up what looked nearly identical to his poop.

He’s seemed fine recently. Eating fine, drinking fine, he hasn’t had any dull coloring until this morning after he threw up. I’m trying to get him to drink now, but he won’t. I did notice yesterday that he was spending most of his time basking. However, it’s getting pretty cold now, so I thought it probably had something to do with that but now I’m unsure.

Obviously today is a holiday and vet offices are closed. He hasn’t eaten this morning because by the time that happened I hadn’t put his food in yet. He eats Dubia Roaches and sometimes black soldier fly larvae, but he’s very picky and usually just eats the roaches. He’s pretty dull in color this morning, so I’m panicking. No sunken eyes or cheeks, just a light brown color as opposed to his usual blue. He’s also pretty jumpy with me, all I have to do is walk over there and he gets mad.

He’s a year old, the only health issue I had was almost exactly a year ago when he was dehydrated and wasn’t eating well, but that was fixed pretty quickly. He’s in a 24x24x48 reptibreeze with all live plants. I mist in the morning 30 mins before lights on and 30 mins after lights out. His bugs gutload on a mixture of different vegetables and occasionally bee pollen. I noticed yesterday, I think, that he had a pretty decent amount of bugs in his feeder and this morning they’re all gone, which he doesn’t often do. He almost always has left overs. So I’m not sure if he just had a really full tummy or if there’s something serious going on. Thank you in advance 🥲
 

Attachments

  • IMG_6517.jpeg
    IMG_6517.jpeg
    112.4 KB · Views: 2
  • IMG_6518.jpeg
    IMG_6518.jpeg
    255.9 KB · Views: 3
  • IMG_6519.jpeg
    IMG_6519.jpeg
    284 KB · Views: 2
Hi. Sorry your guy isn’t feeling well. What is his basking temp currently? Has he pooped lately? Did you feed him a much larger amount, or larger in size feeders than usual? Has he been tested for parasites recently?
My thoughts are: his basking temp isn’t warm enough for him to digest his food, he has a bowel obstruction* or he ate too much at one time and his belly couldn’t hold it. Parasites are always a concern when it comes to anything related to digestion.
All you can really do today is to monitor him and offer additional hydration…maybe put a handful of ice cubes on top of his enclosure to drip down. If things start looking bad, you can try to find an emergency vet. Otherwise call and make him an appointment in the morning. Attaching the list of vets we know have experience with chameleons.
*(in humans when things can’t go down, they come up - no idea if this is the same for chameleons)
 

Attachments

  • Chameleon Forums Vet List 2024 U.S.A. 3.pdf
    174.7 KB · Views: 2
Hi. Sorry your guy isn’t feeling well. What is his basking temp currently? Has he pooped lately? Did you feed him a much larger amount, or larger in size feeders than usual? Has he been tested for parasites recently?
My thoughts are: his basking temp isn’t warm enough for him to digest his food, he has a bowel obstruction* or he ate too much at one time and his belly couldn’t hold it. Parasites are always a concern when it comes to anything related to digestion.
All you can really do today is to monitor him and offer additional hydration…maybe put a handful of ice cubes on top of his enclosure to drip down. If things start looking bad, you can try to find an emergency vet. Otherwise call and make him an appointment in the morning. Attaching the list of vets we know have experience with chameleons.
*(in humans when things can’t go down, they come up - no idea if this is the same for chameleons)
Thank you so much for responding, I went to check on him about a half hour ago and he was sleeping. Really bad sign, I know, so I’m even more panicked. I gave him the opportunity to drink earlier, I don’t think he did. I didn’t change anything in his food, but I’m wondering if he ate too much at once yesterday. I also noticed him eating later than usual and maybe he didn’t have enough time to let it digest under his basking spot, not sure if that would be it, though. They’re so complicated in the health area, so it’s hard for me to tell. I just checked his basking spot and the temp reads around 80-82 🤦🏻‍♀️. It usually reads exactly 85. I’ll adjust his branch and see if that helps, it’s obviously a bit colder now so I’m guessing that probably has something to do with it. Thank you again 😊
 
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to do one. If you’d like, the questions are below.

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
  • Location - Where are you geographically located?
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

--------------

Please Note:
  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
  2. Photos can be very helpful.
 
Back
Top Bottom